MagicJED

All good. He is a valuable player to have, especially against us, because we don't have anyone that can handle his girth or strength. Aminu and Isaac are the guys who might be able to limit him. Gordon has to guard Kawhi, but it's looking like Kawhi just has his number. Thankfully the Clippers are in the West as we don't match up well with them. Milwaukee is going to hard enough to avoid or go through.

How is he trash? Go look at his season averages. That is what he plays like normally.

This is a schedule loss if there ever was one. Energy just isn't there. No real prep time. Injuries at PG really hurting us, and the two guys we have to stop Harrell are hurt. Hard to get upset that we're missing that extra gear that we need against the top teams.

I also want to give some love to Johnson and Clark. They are 2 players that we can make use of. They are certainly better fits in the NBA than Jefferson and Magette.

He missed several shots in a row, but he redeemed himself. His presence had an effect on the two key Fultz drives too because they could not leave Vuc..The shots he missed were good looks that he is supposed to take, and he typically makes them. He absolutely needs to play better offensively if this team is going to succeed, but he hit one of the key shots that led to the win. He didn't make any noteworthy mistakes on defense. Every player has streaks of missed shots. Does LeBron suck because he could not hit important shots tonight?

This is the AG that we need consistently. He can't be traded if he plays this way. This is the player that he is and the sooner he recognizes it, the better off he will be. He doesn't need to score 30 to be a difference maker.

The Vuc haters can suck an egg. Without his big 3 we lose this game. He put us in position for Fultz to do what he is capable of. Fultz made the right play tonight by waiting to find the right openings and keeping his dribble alive before committing. Tonight is an example of the play Iwundu is capable of. That is why I was calling for him to play early in the year.

Who ever said that?

Just stay within a basket until Fultz can finish and Vuc makes amends.

We just have to stop letting unknowns like Niang kill us. We were finally starting to get a few shots to fall but he kept buoying his team and keeping them from falling behind. Then we got sloppy when they were hitting everything and Mitchell finished us off. We have been fighting these back breaking scoring droughts for at least 7 straight seasons. That is why you need star quality players that are capable of carrying the team while the other guys struggle and shots get easier for everyone when the stars are making theirs. Not too upset to lose to a team with so many high percentage deep shooters on a back to back. We need Isaac to beat teams like this. It's becoming quite clear that you need to hit between 12-15 threes to compete consistently. Even when you play great defense, you're going to give up open threes and have contested shots made over you by good shooters.

After the interview with JI I'm feeling more confident that he is not badly injured. I just hope that is not just his positive attitude talking. He is going to take a huge step over the next year, it would be terrible to be rehabbing a serious injury when we see the flashes of the player he is becoming.

The post was not directed to people who saw the game. I had no intent to analyze the game or the team. My analysis is that we need roster improvements and a more flexible rotation. We need shooting and our deep bench needs to be players with potential. But, without knowing the options available to us, I don't know what we need. I think we need to get rid of most of the bench along with Gordon and Aminu. I think our starters are sufficient for now. In the meantime, we need to play 2 starters at all times. I also don't believe that we can beat the Bucks, but I don't think that really matters. I also see that you have nothing worth saying in any of your posts.

We have everything we need to be a 6 or 7 seed in the East. We are certainly not playing well enough right now for that though. Injuries are really keeping us from putting together a better record. Just because we didn't get the start we hoped for and we are inconsistent right now, it doesn't mean that anyone who feels we're capable of much more are wrong. Our young players are the ones who determine how much we're going to improve and they have improved, but they are not great scorers or shooters who are ready to carry us. If we simply make the playoffs, that is an accomplishment when you look at the past decade. No shame in losing to the Bucks. They do this to everyone. Actually, they beat most by 20-30 on a nightly basis. This year is going better than last actually. Hopefully the right move coms along at the deadline and we can pick up a piece to spark another second half run. This season could go either way. If this team is not good enough to improve on last season I'd rather find out this season than next, that way we can make changes sooner than later. We have to remember that the road to a championship is rarely a straight line or a straight uphill climb. There are going to be ups and downs, and we might have to get worse or change directions before we improve. Even if we know what we need to get better, it takes time to get the pieces we need. This FO is well aware that this team is not a finished product and there are changes on the horizon, even if we finish the season better than last year. If someone expects us to beat the best and be a serious contender now or a year from now they will be disappointed and they shouldn't watch. Improvements from our young guys and ending the season in a better place than last year are the goal of this team. It's not just wins and losses that matter necessarily. Learning how to get better and doing those things to succeed in future seasons is the real key. We are playing the long game unless a star becomes part of the team or one of our guys breaks out.

AG missed the second half. The +/- for DJ is because of the times he was on the court and he was certainly not that poor.. DJ was fine early, but he was tired late. The bench was horrible and the rest of the team was bad in the 4th quarter, and DJ played with the bench and with the starters when they were bad. Birch and Iwundu were the worst. Fultz was off too. They took Ross out of the game for the most part.

He played very well for us and he showed that he was worth keeping. Not sure why we didn't keep him. He had some strong double doubles and he made plenty of 3's. None of his play should be a surprise to anyone who follows the NBA.

I don't like the rotations in this half, but we are severely depleted. Add the horrific play of Birch and Iwundu who can't even let our other guys get a short rest. We had to fight to get back in the game when we are already tired. We would have to play the starters 15 straight minutes and it looks like we already hit the wall the way it's going. If anyone is foolish enough to think that Giannis and Gordon are all the Bucks are, they simply don't realize how good Milwaukee is. The Bucks are very deep and essentially have 2 complete starting lineups. Ilyasova and both Lopez brothers are playing great. When you add Middleton, were guarding the 4 leading guys with 3 guys who have trouble defending guys with size that can shoot. Birch is not tall enough to guard either Lopez. They are the best team in the NBA and we don't matchup with them. They are too deep for us. We can't have offensive droughts and we must defend as well as we are capable to even make it close . When we're depleted due to injury we have to play perfect to have a chance. Good offense will beat good defense every time. Most people forget that they are also a great defensive team. Winning takes great shooting because they clog the paint until you force them to adjust, and we're not made up of shooters. The next 4 games are must wins and we should win 3 or 4 if we are going to be the team we want to be.

We really could have used Bamba tonight. He would open things up. Birch can only play one style and that happens to be the one we don't want to play against the Bucks.

Well, Isaac just can't help off of him because he has a lightning quick release for a big guy. People need to defend much better individually so we don't have to help so much. We also have to get our arms up instead of giving them great views of the hoop. And I don't know why AG is not defending LaVine. Gordon needs to get back to embracing his role as the guy who guards the best opposing player. Iwundu is also useful on defense. And, it allows AG to play offense when he is on and JI to patrol the paint.

Knew this was coming. Offense gone. Turnover flurry. Toronto finds it's shot. We likely fall 15 down.

We do have to clean up the long rebounds that end up in 3's which put a gash in the lead and get the opposition back in the game. We played a good half, but you can't help but think that we should have a bigger lead. We don't finish first halves well and it makes games so much harder than they probably have to be.

He is the last player we should complain about. When he plays the role he does, he is going to dribble around a bunch. When you have a couple guys who don't pass and chuck up shots, it's probably better that he keeps it awhile. He gets a good number of points just exploring. If he keeps TO' down it's fine.

Aminu and Bambi are the ones struggling

It's better that he plays later when we need to finish the game well.

Yep, we have Bambi tonight

It's a contract year, but it's a player option so how he plays only matters if he wants to stay in Orlando. He is not the type of person Ross is. Ross is the one who doesn't work on his game and cares more about getting his points. Fournier has improved since he got paid. Ross has regretted to the point where nothing but his shots matter. Before the "Human Torch" fun went to his head, Ross moved the ball, he went to the basket when closed out, and he played above average defense. He would have won an award last year if the rest of his game didn't fall off a cliff. Until our front office starts finding better back court players and real shooters, then we can decide if we can upgrade over Evan. The way it stands right now, we are extremely fortunate to have Fournier. He is getting paid just right for what he produces. Until we have a guaranteed upgrade, we need him. If he plays the way he has this season, he is an All-Star level guy. He won't get voted because his game is not flashy. As fans, we can't forget how big these injuries hurt us in every aspect. It's going to take us time to learn to play without those guys. They are starters at positions that our backups have struggled at all season. Birch looks lost, Aminu and Iwundu are not in any rhythm , and despite Bamba having one of his best games, he was woefully inadequate. Augustin is just getting to the point where he can't physically carry the bench in every game, especially when Ross is not in the 20's some nights. Fultz has been amazing for sure, but we can't forget that he is still learning PG, the hardest position to learn. We just have to try to stay close and steel some games so we can make a run when we have everyone back. This stretch will give us a good idea of the type of moves we need to make before the trade deadline.